Governor for elevators



J. HOFFER.

GOVERNOR FOR ELEVATORS.

a APPLICATION man FEB. 11. I920.

1,389,248. Patented Aug. 30, I921.

FIELVI a Q FIBJII INVENTOR UNITED STATES 'JOHN HOFFER, 0F MARIANNA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GOVERNOR non ELEVATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

Application filed February 11, 1920. Serial No. 357,799.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Herman, residing at Marianna, in the county of \Vashington and State of Pennsylvania, a subject of the former Kingdom of Hungary in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Governors for Elevators, of which improvements the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in elevators-within which term I mean to include elevators in mines and in buildings, inclined planes for carrying city traific over declivities, and all such structures, It consists in means for limiting to a predetermined maximum the speed attainable in op- .eration. In certain cases of elevator use, the

speed permissible is limited by law, and in such case, for example, my invention is ap-' plicable, to insure compliance with the law.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure I shows diagrammatically and in side elevation an elevator installation, having mechanism embodying my invention applied to it; Fig. II is a similar View to larger scale of the mechanism wherein my invention resides with the immediately associated parts; Fig. III is a diagrammatic View, illustrating a further adaptation of the invention.

The invention is applicable to any elevator installation in which a safety device is present, and a running cable for operating the safety device. In an emergency the safety device is operated, to arrest the car in its movement and to hold it in its runway secure against falling. Further than that, the practice of my invention is not limited to any particular kind of, nor form of, safety device. I have shown it in the drawings applied to an elevator having a safety device of particular kind; but, in View of what has been said, the showing will be understood to be exemplary, and unessential details will not be taken to be essential.

The safety device shown is that of my pending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 286,665, filed April 1, 1919. The cage 1 runs between posts 3; it is raised and lowered by cable 2; cable 2 iswound upon and unwound from a power-driven drum 4,

to raise and lower the car; drum 41 is counterweighted by weight 5, hung on cable 6. The safety device consists of members 10 borne by cage 1 in pairs; they extend on opposite sides of posts 3, and are drawn together to engage posts 3, and by such en- 9 is not imparted to drum 8, but is imparted rather to the car body through the weak branch connection 15. Under emergency conditions, extraordinary tension exerted through cable 9 breaks the weak connection 15, and tension then comes upon drum 8, turning it, and causing members 10 to engage posts 3. In case the car-sustaining cable 2 parts-and it is to meet that contingency that the safety device is primarily designed and intended-the weight: of the car coming suddenly upon weak connection 15 breaks it, whereupon the tension exerted upon cable 9 by the weight of the falling car is applied to drum 8, turning it, and in so doing operating the safety device just de scribed. 7

My present invention is superadded to a construction such as this, and it effects operation of the safety device under still another contingency: namely, when the speed of travel of the car exceeds a certain predetermined maximum.

The car-sustaining cable 2 passes over sheaves, and onthe axle of one of these, it matters not which, is mounted a sprocketwheel 20. Adj acent'the safety cable 9 at a corresponding suitable point is arranged a governor, including a rotatable spindle 21, a slide 22, links 23, secured to arms 24, which carry centrifugal weights 25.

A pair of cooperating pivoted jaws 26 is arranged, one on either side of cable 9; and suitable means are provided to cause the jaws to swing (when free so to do), to engage cable 9. Such means may take the form of a rod 31 mounted to turn pivotally with one of the jaws 26, and a weight 32 mounted to run along this rod and so to become increasingly effective as the rod swings from the position of slight upward inclina tion shown to a position of downward inclination. The jaws are normally held free of engagement with cable 9 and the rod 31 in the position shown, by a catch 33.

Through lever mechanism shown, movement of slide 22 along spindle 21 is communicated to catch 33 to release it, and thereupon, impelled by weight 32, the jaws 26 swing to engage cable 9. It will be understood that the jaw-swinging means shown are, in their specific character exemplary merely. Rotation is imparted to spindle 21 through suitable gearing from a sprocket wheel 27, which turns with sprocket wheel 20 through the inst-rumentality of a uniting sprocket chain 28. Thus rotation of spindle 21 becomes an expression of rotation of sprocket wheel 20, and so of peed of travel of cable '2. R0- tation of spindle 21 at a pretermined critical speed will cause the weights 25 to fly out centrifugally, with the effect that jaws 26 will close upon cable 9. When this happens, the car continuing its descent, tension will be exerted upon cable 9 such as to break the line 15, and, sequent thereon, to operate the safety device and stop the car.

It will be observed that my invention as thus far developed is made available to stop a car in descent, when its speed exceeds the predetermined limit, and ordinarily this arrangement will suflice, for it is in descent that greatest speed is attained. There may however be circumstances when it is desirable to so limit and control speed of ascent as well as of descent (two cars may be connected in counterbalance, for instance, as in my concurrent application, Serial No. 250,558, filed January 10th, 1920, and then one car rises at the same speed at which the other descends). In Fig. III I indicate that the safety rope may extend throughout the range of car travel both upward and downward and form a closed loop, so that when the jaws 01" the governor (indicated at 30) close upon the cable 9 a pull will be exerted, whether the car be rising or descending. It is a simple matter to make this pull efiective to operate the safety device whether it be exercised in one direction or in the other. In this figure the governor is diagrammatiea-lly represented at 30, and it will be understood that it is driven from one of the sheaves of the main car-sustaining cables 2 and that its jaws when moved close upon the safety cable 9.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an elevator installation the combination, with a car runway, a car movable in said runway, a sheave, a cable secured to said car and running upon said sheave, and means for shifting said cable to raise and lower said car in its runway, of a centrit ugal governor rotated by said sheave, means borne by said car for locking the car immovably in its runway, a safety cable connected to said locking means, and a clamp adapted to lock immovably upon said safety cable, said clamp being normally inactive and rendered active by operation of said centrifugal governor, suostantially as described.

2. In an elevator installation the. combination, with a car runway, a'car movable in said runway, a sheave, a cable secured to said car and running upon said sheave, and means for shifting said cable to raise and lower said car in its runway, of a centrifugal governor rotated by said sleeve, means borne by said car for locking the car immovably in its runway, asatety cable connected to said locking means, a clamp adapted to lock immovably upon said safety cable, and a latch normally holding said clamp inactive, said latch being movable by said centrifugal governor, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

BAYARD H. CHRIsrY, FRANors J. ToMAssoN. 

